As the popularity of outdoor sports and recreational activities increase, the desire for the ease and efficiency of loading and transporting the associated equipment and/or accessories also increase. Depending on its size and shape, some equipment for sports and recreational activities are fairly easy to load. Other larger or bulkier equipment, such as small recreational vehicles, are more of a challenge to load. One affordable solution to loading small recreational vehicles, such as snowmobiles, onto a transporting vehicle, such as a truck, is through a portable ramp.
There are several prior art portable ramp assemblies for loading small recreational vehicles, including some which consist of a solid piece of material, with no movable parts, and some, which are divided into sections that allow the ramp to be assembled, folded or collapsed. The disadvantage of a ramp made of the solid piece of material, though, is that is may be awkward to move, and a nuisance to store when not in use.
Foldable or collapsible ramps vary depending upon, among other things, the desired direction of the fold and the hinges used for folding. A foldable ramp may fold vertical, such that there are two or three solid vertical sections that hinge together for folding thereon, or for expanding and collapsing close to each other. These sections are normally flat for ease of folding and will fold out to a flat ramp. Although vertical folding ramps such as these are more portable and storable than a single solid piece ramp assembly, they do not provide much clearance for a small recreational vehicle when loading onto a back of a truck, the recreational vehicle being loaded may have a difficult time in loading and unloading onto a ramp with a flat surface, and the ramp may be awkward or time-consuming to fold out or set into place.
A horizontally foldable ramp may be formed to fold out to provide an arching of the ramp, thus allowing more ease in loading and unloading, and providing more clearance for the recreational vehicle. Unfortunately, to form an arch on the ramp, a horizontally foldable or collapsible ramp normally consists of many sections, which in turn, consist of many hinges, and/or connecting pieces. Thus, there are many parts that can wear out and that need to be replaced, making it less cost effective. Furthermore, a horizontally foldable ramp may also be awkward and time-consuming to fold out or set into place.
Thus, there is a need to provide a collapsible ramp that is easily and quickly assembled, provides ease and clearance in loading and unloading a recreational vehicle onto a transport vehicle, and is durable and cost effective.